Railway industry creating more engineering jobs

Published:
Saturday, 21 May 2016
Category: All Graduate Jobs News

The railway industry is creating more engineering jobs as the amount of government investment continues to transform Britain’s network.

Britain’s railways are undergoing a huge transformation due to projects such as Crossrail – London’s new train route now entering its final stages of construction – and HS2, which is set to form the core of one of the biggest infrastructure projects in Europe.

Chancellor George Osborne has also indicated that there will be continued investment in the UK’s rail network by announcing plans to move forward spending on HS3 high-speed rail line, Crossrail 2 and the TransPennine Express.

The sector currently contributes £7 billion a year to the economy in the UK, employing over 85,000 people, with the number set to rise dramatically.

Increase in vacancies

The development of HS2 alone will create around 25,000 jobs whilst construction is taking place, as well as 3,000 jobs whilst it is in operation.

From this point until 2019, £38 billion is set to be invested by the Government to improve and run the rail network, which is expected to create 10,000 new engineering jobs.

Susan Kramer, the former minister of state for transport, claims the amount of investment means prospects for the industry are considerably more exciting than they have been for generations.

The amount of investment is being driven by a rise in rail activity. Over 20 years, the amount of rail journeys has doubled to around 3.2 billion a year, with similar growth expected in freight and passenger traffic as well.

Perfect time to enter the industry

With the amount of large projects that are underway, it seems that now is the perfect time to start an engineering career within the rail industry.

Added to the investment by the Government, the UK is now the base for two train manufacturers with big plans for the future. Among them are Hitachi Rail, who are making the next generation of Intercity trains, and Bombardier, who are manufacturing trains for the Crossrail project.